Sallie Mae 2014 Annual Report Download - page 12

Supervision and Regulation
Overview
We are subject to extensive regulation, examination and supervision by various federal, state and local authorities. The
more significant aspects of the laws and regulations that apply to us and our subsidiaries are described below. These
descriptions are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the applicable statutes, legislation, regulations and
policies, as they may be amended, and as interpreted and applied, by federal, state and local agencies. Such statutes, regulations
and policies are continually under review and are subject to change at any time, particularly in the current economic and
regulatory environment.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) was adopted to
reform and strengthen regulation and supervision of the U.S. financial services industry. It contains comprehensive provisions
to govern the practices and oversight of financial institutions and other participants in the financial markets. It mandates
significant regulations, additional requirements and oversight on almost every aspect of the U.S. financial services industry,
including increased capital and liquidity requirements, limits on leverage and enhanced supervisory authority. It requires the
issuance of many implementing regulations which will take effect over several years, making it difficult to anticipate the
overall impact to us, our affiliates, including the Bank, as well as our customers and the financial industry more generally.
Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations
Our origination, servicing and first-party collection activities related to our Private Education Loans subject us to federal
and state consumer protection, privacy and related laws and regulations. Some of the more significant laws and regulations that
are applicable to our business include:
• various laws governing unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices;
• the federal Truth-In-Lending Act and Regulation Z issued by the CFPB, which governs disclosures of credit terms to
consumer borrowers;
• the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V issued by the CFPB, which governs the use and provision of
information to consumer reporting agencies;
• the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) and Regulation B issued by the CFPB, which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of race, creed or other prohibited factors in extending credit;
• the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), which applies to all debts incurred prior to commencement of active
military service (including education loans) and limits the amount of interest, including service and renewal charges
and any other fees or charges (other than bona fide insurance) that are related to the obligation or liability;
• the Fair Debt Collection Act, which governs the manner in which consumer debts may be collected by collection
agencies;
• the Truth in Savings Act and Regulation DD issued by the CFPB, which requires disclosure of deposit terms to
consumers;
• Regulation CC issued by the Federal Reserve Bank (“FRB”), which relates to the availability of deposit funds to
consumers;
• the Right to Financial Privacy Act, which imposes a duty to maintain the confidentiality of consumer financial records
and prescribes procedures for complying with administrative subpoenas of financial records;
• the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E issued by the CFPB, which governs automatic deposits to and
withdrawals from deposit accounts and customers’ rights
• the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which governs communication methods that may be used to contact
customers; and
• the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which governs the ability of financial institutions to disclose nonpublic information
about consumers to non-affiliated third parties.
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